Yuma native Harmon reaches 70th marathon mark, is aiming for 100

Tami Harmon has a map of the U.S. hanging on a wall in her office with numbers on every state. The numbers aren't random — they represent a marathon that she has run.

Harmon currently has 70 marathons under her belt, including one in every state of the country.

Most recently, Harmon ran the Yuma Territorial Marathon, where she finished first in her age group and third overall.

“There wasn't a lot of competition, I must say,” Harmon laughed. “I have won other marathons where I was the only female in my group. That still gives me some bragging rights, I guess.

“I've run faster than the gal who won it, but every race is different and you never know what the race will bring. That's part of the fun for me is how it ends up. ... Even though I could have and have done better, I was totally thrilled with my time.”

As a Yuma native, Harmon said she loves having a local marathon to run. She ran the inaugural race and hasn't missed one since — and plans to continue to run the marathon for as long as it exists.

But Harmon isn't stopping with the Yuma marathon. She has got her sights set on a big goal: running 100 marathons.

“After I finished my 50 states in (Washington) D.C., I ended up having 68 or 69 marathons at that point. I knew once Yuma was 70. ... I have run so many marathons since 2008 that usually the marathons or half-marathons are used as training for the next one. I don't really even prepare anymore.”

Harmon's next marathon will be the Pasadena Half-Marathon on Sunday. But unlike other half-marathons — which she said are usually more fun than full marathons — Pasadena has created a unique challenge.

When she's not running or working at Pinnacle Healthcare, Harmon is also a high school basketball referee. She was asked to officiate over a state playoff game in Flagstaff on Saturday, meaning she has to drive nearly 460 miles after the game to make to Pasadena for the race.

“I've got it all planned out. It's about a six-hour trek and I'm more nervous about the drive than the race.”

For Harmon, running and reffing now go hand in hand. She said her passion for running has helped raise her endurance level for the quick pace of a basketball game.

“Every single one of those players can beat me down the court — but nobody can outlast me during a game or an overtime. I feel very fit and that's part of what I love about the reffing is the running.

“It's a different kind of run, it's a stop and go run. It's fun and I do feel like I can hang with whatever the game brings as far as the fitness portion of it — that's true.”

Being a basketball referee brings Harmon full circle, as she started running as a way to get in shape to play basketball.

“I had a high school basketball coach who I really looked up to and he was my mentor. He wanted us all to run to get in shape and I think I was like the only one who did start running. He just had a passion for it and I developed a passion over time for it — not originally. I used to hate it as much as most kids do.

“Over time, I just really started loving it. The base used to have a half-marathon so I did that. Then I had a friend who said come with me and we're going to do the San Diego Marathon, that was in 1999. I really thought I'd be over it, I was sore and it was hard to function after the race. But by the time I got home, I was looking for another race — it grew on me very quickly.”

But the biggest impact that running has had on her, Harmon said, is the way it changed the way she looks at her life. She said once you've run a marathon, the word “only” quickly joins your vocabulary.

“I like what it brings to my life personally and professionally. After you tackle that distance, you start putting ‘only' in front of everything you do. Like, ‘Oh, I've only got three more hours of work' or ‘I've only got two more hours to get to San Diego' — it really puts a lot of things into perspective.

“I do a lot of thinking during my runs. It has helped me out a lot of the years, I get a lot of things done during the run.”

Harmon has no plans to quit running anytime soon. She said even after she's reached her 100=marathon mark, she'll still be hunting down another race.

“Honestly, my ultimate goal is to win my age group at age 90. I just want to stay healthy, stay focused and stay loving it. I'm hoping to be healthy enough to run a 10-hour marathon when I'm 90 years old. Seriously.

“I just really love it. I'm so healthy and I'm so thankful that I'm healthy, I just want to run until I drop.”